Antimicrobial Applications of Rhamnolipid Biosurfactant Produced from Achromobacter sp. (PS1) Isolate Using Lignocellulosic Hydrolysate

Heterogeneous mixture of partially purified rhamnolipid (RL) produced from Achromobacter sp. (PS1) using lignocellulosic rice straw (RS) sugar hydrolysate medium revealed six different congeners- Rha- C10-C10, Rha-C8-C10/Rha-C10-C8, Rha- C12-C10 / Rha- C10-C12, referring mono-rhamnolipids amounting to total 68.23 % and Rha-Rha-C10-C10, Rha-Rha-C8-C10/Rha-Rha-C10-C8, Rha-Rha-C10-C12/Rha-Rha-C12-C10, referring di-rhamnolipids amounting to 31.73 %, with Mono to Di- RL in the ratio of 2.1:1. This mixture's antimicrobial action containing more mono-rhamnolipids analyzed using broth macro-dilution method exhibited a broad-spectrum antibacterial activity showing ≥ 90 % growth inhibition of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria at MIC ranging from 1.25 mg/mL to 10 mg/mL of total rhamnolipids. This might be due to the more hydrophobic character of mono-rhamnolipids containing a single rhamnosyl group and showing high surface activities. On the other hand, the non-antifungal activity may be attributed to the lower percentage of di-rhamnolipids in the partially purified mixture.

pH-metric method for determining the solubility and solubility products of slightly soluble hydroxides and acids

In this paper, original methods for determining such thermodynamic characteristics as solubility K S0 product (KS) or the activity product ( )of slightly soluble hydroxides and acids are communicated. Developed methods for determining KS and solubility S are based only on the pH values of the saturated aqueous solution for a known initial composition of the heterogeneous mixture and the equilibrium constants of an arbitrary set of possible side reactions in the aqueous natural systems. The determination of solubility S and solubility product KS is also possible in the presence of other hydroxides or acids of known concentrations. Deduced equations allow the calculation of such characteristics, as the equilibrium concentrations of the components of slightly soluble compounds in aqueous phase and the degree of precipitation γ of the solid phase for various initial concentrations of the components of the heterogeneous mixture which are known in the process of preparing the mixture, requiring only experimental pH values of a saturated solution. From the known experimental pH data, S and KS were calculated for a series of hydroxides and acids of arbitrary composition. The obtained results correlated well with the known tabular values. Analysis of a number of real systems illustrated the deduced expressions, including calculations and theoretical explanations.

Phylogenomics unravels the early diversification of fungi

Our understanding of the eukaryote tree of life is continually improving, although the branching events at some of the deepest nodes remain elusive. The fungi are an ancient group of eukaryotes with a wide range of morphologies, life-history strategies, and ecological roles. While several recent phylogenomic analyses have been shown to be a powerful tool for uncovering even earliest diversifications, no study has yet examined the entire tree of fungi using a taxonomically comprehensive data set and suitable models of evolution. Here, we assembled a data set of 299 proteins from all recognised fungal groups for which genomic/transcriptomic data were available and subjected this to a battery of analyses, including tree inferences using site-heterogeneous mixture models and the Multi-Species Coalescent model. Tree topology was highly congruent and well supported, and any incongruence was found to result from an inability of some frequently used evolutionary models to model fast-evolving and heterogeneous sites. Our results provide higher resolution among early-branching lineages than previous studies, and shed light on hitherto highly contested evolutionary origins of the major fungal groups.

The Importance Of Macroprolactin In The Diagnosis Of Hyperprolactinemia

This article provides a brief review of macroprolactin (MPRL) – what, why, how, and when. Prolactin (PRL) secretion is uniquely controlled by tonic dopamine inhibition. Circulating PRL is a heterogeneous mixture of different sized proteins – monomer, dimer, and a large PRL-immunoglobulin aggregate also known as MPRL. Hyperprolactinemia (HPRL), which affects male sexual function and female reproduction, is a common endocrine disorder. Elevated PRL may be physiologic, pharmacologic, or pathologic. However, MPRL is quite common (ranging from 13–30%) and should be excluded before inappropriate investigations and therapy for HPRL are initiated. MPRL can be precipitated by mixing serum with polyethylene glycol (PEG) followed by centrifugation; monomeric PRL remains in the supernatant. MPRL is considered present if the PRL recovery is less than 40% or if the post-precipitation PRL concentration is low. The use of both measures for MPRL provides greater clarity. Different immunoassay platforms recognize MPRL differently necessitating assay-specific reference ranges. All HPRL samples should be screened for MPRL.

Comparative Mitogenomics and Phylogenetic Analyses of Pentatomoidea (Hemiptera: Heteroptera)

Pentatomoidea is the largest superfamily of Pentatomomorpha; however, the phylogenetic relationships among pentatomoid families have been debated for a long time. In the present study, we gathered the mitogenomes of 55 species from eight common families (Acanthosomatidae, Cydnidae, Dinidoridae, Scutelleridae, Tessaratomidae, Plataspidae, Urostylididae and Pentatomidae), including 20 newly sequenced mitogenomes, and conducted comparative mitogenomic studies with an emphasis on the structures of non-coding regions. Heterogeneity in the base composition, and contrasting evolutionary rates were encountered among the mitogenomes in Pentatomoidea, especially in Urostylididae, which may lead to unstable phylogenetic topologies. When the family Urostylididae is excluded in taxa sampling or the third codon positions of protein coding genes are removed, phylogenetic analyses under site-homogenous models could provide more stable tree topologies. However, the relationships between families remained the same in all PhyloBayes analyses under the site-heterogeneous mixture model CAT + GTR with different datasets and were recovered as (Cydnidae + (((Tessaratomidae + Dinidoridae) + (Plataspidae + Scutelleridae)) + ((Acanthosomatidae + Urostylididae) + Pentatomidae)))). Our study showed that data optimizing strategies after heterogeneity assessments based on denser sampling and the use of site-heterogeneous mixture models are essential for further analysis of the phylogenetic relationships of Pentatomoidea.

Solid Transfer of Large Particles by Dipping in a Heterogeneous Mixture

Solid transfer technology from mixtures is gaining ever-increasing attention from both materials scientists and production engineers due to their high potential in near net shape production of cost-effective engineering components. Dip coating, a wet deposition method is an effective and straightforward way of thin-film/layers formation. It is extensively used as a coating method due to its simplicity, low cost, and reasonable control over the thickness. The dipping mixture can be homogeneous, composite, hybrid, or heterogeneous. The mixtures are often embedded with inorganic fillers, nanoparticles, or clusters (d < 30 nm) that produce a thin film ranging from nm to couple microns. An increase in the volume of solid transfer by the dipping process can open-up a novel technique for the 3D near-net-shape production process via sintering, robocasting or additive manufacturing, and material joining. Adding larger inorganic particle size (> 1μm) and/or by adding higher solid fraction will increase the solid transfer but may result in a multi-phase heterogeneous mixture or slurry. In this work, the physical mechanism of an increased volume of solid transfer with a larger particle size (> 5 μm) is investigated. The metallic particles are spherical in shape with an average diameter of 5.69 μm is considered as the coating material. Polymer-based glue and evaporating solvent are mixed to construct the liquid carrier system (LCS) for large inorganic hard particles. Moderate volume fraction (VF) of inorganic particles (20% < ϕp < 50%) are added into the LCS solution as solid loading. Cylindrical AISI 304 steel wire with dia 0.81 mm is used as the substrate for dipping and coating. The coating thickness (CT) and the surface packing coverage by the particles are measured in our lab. The results presented the influence of volume fraction of inorganic particle and glue composition on the solid transfer from the heterogeneous mixture.

Characterization of Three Complete Mitogenomes of Flatidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea) and Compositional Heterogeneity Analysis in the Planthoppers’ Mitochondrial Phylogenomics

Although sequences of mitogenomes have been widely used for investigating phylogenetic relationship, population genetics, and biogeography in many members of Fulgoroidea, only one complete mitogenome of a member of Flatidae has been sequenced. Here, the complete mitogenomes of Cerynia lineola, Cromna sinensis, and Zecheuna tonkinensis are sequenced. The gene arrangements of the three new mitogenomes are consistent with ancestral insect mitogenomes. The strategy of using mitogenomes in phylogenetics remains in dispute due to the heterogeneity in base composition and the possible variation in evolutionary rates. In this study, we found compositional heterogeneity and variable evolutionary rates among planthopper mitogenomes. Phylogenetic analysis based on site-homogeneous models showed that the families (Delphacidae and Derbidae) with high values of Ka/Ks and A + T content tended to fall together at a basal position on the trees. Using a site-heterogeneous mixture CAT + GTR model implemented in PhyloBayes yielded almost the same topology. Our results recovered the monophyly of Fulgoroidea. In this study, we apply the heterogeneous mixture model to the planthoppers' phylogenetic analysis for the first time. Our study is based on a large sample and provides a methodological reference for future phylogenetic studies of Fulgoroidea.